Commonly
known as Ippen Shounin êÕãl or St. Ippen (1234-89). The founder of the
Ji  sect. From Iyo É\ province (modern Ehime prefecture) in Shikoku
l, his original name was Chishin q^. Ippen first studied Tendai Vä Buddhism on
Mt. Hiei äb in Shiga prefecture, and then Pure land Joudo òy Buddhism at Dazaifu ¾É{ in Kyuushuu
ãB. During a pilgrimmage to Kumano Fì, the deity revealed to Ippen that enlightenment
was determined by *Amida ¢íÉ
and that Ippen should devote himself to preaching the importance of reciting the
name of Amida, nenbutsu O§. Ippen and a band of followers
travelled throughout the country proselytizing with their ecstatic nenbutsu
dance, nenbutsu-odori O§xè, and won a wide following among common people.
Ippen's insistence on constant travelling and giving up of family and possessions
led to his nicknames: Yugyou Shounin Vsãl (Traveling Saint) and Sute hijiri Ì¹ (Holy Man of Renunciation). After his death, Ippen's portrait was made in paintings
(Shoujoukouji ´òõ, Kanagawa prefecture); in sculpted images (Chourakuji
·y, Kyoto); and, most notably, in illustrated narrative scrolls *emaki
Gª. The Ippen hijiri-e êÕ¹G (Painting of St. Ippen) was edited by
Ippen's disciple Shoukai ¹ú, and, according to an inscription dated 1299, was
painted by the artist En-i ~É (Kankikouji ½ìõ, Kyoto, and Tokyo National Museum).
The twelve handscrolls on silk show Ippen's trip around Japan, and are well-known
for their naturalistic depiction of famous places *meisho-e
¼G, including Mt. Fuji xm, Kumano, Shitennouji lV¤, Zenkouji Põ, Enoshima ]m,
*Yoshino gì, Itsukushima
µ, and Naruto Âå. The treatment of space shows the influence of Chinese Song
and Yuan period landscape painting (see *sougenga
v³æ). A second type of biographical handscroll Ippen Shounin Engi-e êÕãlNG,
edited by Ippen's other disciple, Soushun @r, was painted sometime between
1304 and 1307. The original scrolls no longer exist but@were copied in many other
versions including those at Shinkouji ^õ in Hyougo prefecture (Ten scrolls, dated
1323) and Kindaiji àä in Nagano prefecture (One scroll). These versions are characterized
by the addition of the biography of Ippen's most important disciple Taa
¼¢ (1237-1319). In the Shinkouji version, the first four scrolls depict Ippen's
life, while the last six concern the life of Taa and the spread of Ji sect teaching.
Kinrenji à@ in Kyoto has a Muromachi copy (Twenty scrolls) of the now-lost work,
dated 1307, which could be (or, at least was very close to) the original of this
group.